Suikoden V

"Best installment since S2 but not the perfection that its touted to be"

The good news is that Suikoden 5 is a return to the Suikoden we all know and love after the trainwreck that was Suikoden 4. Overall, the game is fantastic though it is not without its flaws and it is not as perfect as some would have you believe.

Story (10/10)
My favorite part of the Suikoden games has always been the narrative and the plot and here S5 does not disappoint. It has all of the political intrigue, surprises and fleshed out characters that have traditionally made the series one of the most involved in all of RPGdom.

The story starts out somewhat slowly with a prologue that lasts anywhere from 6-10 hours. Once you can get past the Sacred Games, however, things start to pick up. As tedious and monotonous as this opening can be, it serves as a necessary evil to establish the thick foundation that is needed to carry the rest of the game. Once you get into the meat of the game, story elements become balanced with gameplay elements so that it doesn't feel like a book as much as it does in the prologue.

Gameplay (8/10)
The gameplay in S5 is generally satisfying but is far from perfect. On a positive note, S5 returns to the old 6 party battle system and the skill system from S3. The 6 party system allows for greater mixing and matching of character types than was possible in S4's four party system. Also included are various battle formations that can be found via exploration that can add valuable stat bonuses to certain characters as well as provide other benefits such as double casting. Boss battles can be fun as the right combination of melee and rune characters in the correct formation will be necessary to defeat the more difficult bosses.

Regular random battles are not very fun as they generally devolve into choosing the “auto” option. Random battles also occur too frequently (though not to the extent as in S4), though this problem is mitigated once you acquire the Champion Rune. The Champion Rune prevents attacks by weak monsters and effectively ensures you only fight monsters that will be worthwhile in terms of experience.

Unfortunately, there are not nearly enough bosses and many of the ones included are not difficult. The most challenging bosses are truly rewarding as you must prepare both the characters that will be used as well as the proper equipment and Runes. The problem is that only a few of the bosses are really all that tough. Once you get Zerase and the Wall and Firefly Runes it is almost impossible to lose. Zerase will pound multiple enemies with magic while the tank-like character equipped with the Wall and Firefly Runes will attract and soak up nearly all of the damage dealt. With this combination, it is nearly impossible to lose if you have a good balance of other characters in your party.

Large scale battles are mostly fun and can include both naval and land warfare. Essentially, naval and ground battles are identical with different names for the same concepts. In order to achieve victory, preparation is required in terms of choosing the appropriate units and unit skills. The biggest problem I had with the battles is that in some joint land/sea battles, it can be hard to move the cursor quickly enough between the land and sea wars, especially once all the units are bunched up. Overall, battles are a nice break from character recruitment and plot quests.

Duels are also fun but are almost impossible to lose. Most opponents more or less tell you what they will do. Still, they are a nice diversion and aid in the character development process.

Character recruitment is the final piece of the gameplay puzzle. Recruitment in S5 is much more involved and complicated than in previous games. Probably a third of the characters in the game require the completion of some type of quest in order to be recruited. Rarely will you encounter characters who will join you simply through talking. Most of these quests are fun and allow you to get to know the characters more than you otherwise might. However, some of the quests seem arbitrary and some are just plain annoying. For instance, recruiting Sairoh involves continually watching the price of salt in the trading posts and then buying and selling a certain amount of salt for a profit. The problem with a lot of the recruits is that, short of a guide or walkthrough, it would be almost impossible for someone to recruit all 108 Stars their first time playing. While this is good from a replay perspective, another 50-60 hours is a lot of time to spend just to see a somewhat different ending.

Graphics (6/10)
Suikoden 5's graphics are disappointing. Character models are nice close-up but their detail is lost when zoomed out, which is how they are mostly viewed. The shadow and reflective effects are fantastic for a PS2 game. Unfortunately, the backgrounds are generally bland and lack detail. I got a very sterile feeling from most of the backgrounds in the game.

Sound (9/10)
The game has a nice soundtrack with lots of new pieces as well as throwbacks to previous installments. Voice acting is generally good though there isn't all that much of it and in some cases it could be improved upon.

Bottomline:
Suikoden 5 is definitely worth a purchase. Fans of the series will love the return to the series' roots while new recruits will want to play the rest of the series. While not the perfect creation that some series fans argue it to be, S5 is the best entry in the series since S2.

Pros: Story, characters, sound

Cons: Graphics, some boring battles, game is too easy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/19/06